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BINTUMANI FORUM

After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves - Barack Obama

In less than 3 months, Sierra Leoneans goes to the polls to choose their next leader.
It's quiet clear that the people yearns for better leadership and they have three main contenders to choose from. One of them is Julius Maada Bio who, on the 4th of December was given the opportunity to sell his well taunted idea of free Primary and Secondary education.
We've seen and heard how the other candidates showed their eloquence. But eloquence itself is not a prerequisite to lead a country but when it is backed by concrete planning and a plethora of ideas, then you'll begin to accept that it's one of the criteria to becoming a good and committed leader.
The same cannot be said for Dullness. A very dull and uninformed candidate cannot be trusted to lead a country as it could be a recipe for corruption and failure.
Many politicians are in the habit of making proclamations intended only to woo support which they know are not feasible.
The recent performance of Julius Maada Bio on BBC Focus on Africa is a clear testament of gross incompetence and lacking in ideas on how to run a country.
The SLPP candidate is yet to unveil a manifesto so that the voters can see how he intends to move the country forward.
He promised to give free Primary and Secondary education yet he lacks in knowledge of the intricacies of how education is funded in a country.
This is a case of blatant deception and dishonesty, he's trying hard to persuade the voters that he can run this country even when he knows he lacks the knowledge and ideas to do so.
My fellow compatriots be warned there's trouble in our midst.

Paopa Diehard,
Why should I remove something as factual as this? Are you ashamed of your guy's gross incompetence or are simply just trying to stifle democracy.
Your guy failed woefully to impress the voters. Perhaps you're the only dieharder who's not yet ashamed of this man's performance. Other prominent supporters have already hit out at his lacklustre performance. It will definitely help him reshape himself. Continuous defence of his performance will prove otherwise.

Eddie, did you find the time to listen to Bio's interview on BBC? Someone posted it as a thread here. You should have followed that thread so that participants on this forum can have the opportunity to listen to What Bio said and your assessment which by the way resembles what one Yankuba Kaisamba wrote on the Sierra Leone Telegraph.

I think your assessment of that Bio interview is flawed. To me Bio came across presidential. He was cogent and articulate.

We have been privilege to have on this Forum two interviews from both Dr. Samura Kamara and now Bio. I think Bio makes a better impression on me than the other guy. I might be wrong simply because I am not listening with a partisan ear but with an open mind as Sierra Leone wanting to see the best candidate rule our land irrespective of their nomenclature. But your assessment is wrong and it might be your partisan view or comprehension ability.

Fande Turner,
You call Bio articulate?
Can you explain why a presidential candidate is unable to defend his idea of free education. Why did he refused to comment on how he intends to achieve that. He was asked a simple question to give figures of where he's going to get the money to fund free education. The man simply shrugged off the question by saying he cannot give figures. Is that what you call articulate? My brother let's be serious because it's only when we're serious that our leaders become serious about running the country.
In Maada's case, he only made the pronouncements because he wants to deceive the people to vote for him.

Eddie, Maada did not dodged the question of how He was going to fund his free primary and secondary education proposal. Unless you listened to a BBC interview that is different from the one posted on this forum, I can confirmed that I head him say he will increase revenue collection by stopping leakages in the economy including the hundreds of millions of TAX WEAVERS that the current government as been conniving with their cronies and dubious investors to deprive the country. And that was not all he spoke about other areas of revenue collections.

So why are you shamelessly lying here just to make a point where there is no point. Try to shred that salon mentality about "nar so dem say so misef believe am" . Find that to verify.

My friend,
Don't be ashamed to say you're a Maada dieharder.
I did not listened to any other interview than the one aired on 4th of December by the BBC Focus on Africa. According to Maada, they've already worked out the maths and apparently have arrived at a figure which convinced him to make those proposals. He also said that the same question had been asked by several people. So why haven't your hero been able to give those figures? If this man have what it takes to lead, then he will be comfortable in answering questions pertaining to the country. But he doesn't even know what he's talking about let alone be able to implement anything.
I tell you why he inadvertently uttered those proposals. In 2002, the SLPP made the same proclamations. At that time, the SLPP was comprised of brainiacs who were able to articulate these proposals to the extent that the west took them very seriously. The result was the creation of the SABABU Education Project, which was well funded by DfiD. Unfortunately, that opportunity was scoundered and the project became a white elephant.
Bio realised such proposals are lucrative and can earn you huge support especially if you are interested in amassing wealth for yourself and family. He also realised that his chances of winning are very slim. Relying only on the southeast cannot guarantee you the presidency. Given that Kandeh have persuaded students in the southeast and West to vote for him. Realising the student population in that region is slipping away from him, he thought a radical pronouncement is needed and that's how he came up with this idea ill-prepeared.
Bio is unfit to lead Sierra Leone the man cannot even lead a herd of goats, so how can he lead 7 million people.

@Eddie, perhaps the more pertinent question is not whether or not Maada Bio is the best of the available presidential candidates but rather which team is best placed to deliver the step changes we all desire. KKY on his own has very impressive credentials and I am a fan. However the task ahead cannot be undertaken by one man. SLPP has a team in place ready to rise to the challenge. NGC is a bit too nascent in my opinion. If KKY had opted to launch NGC 2-3 years ago he would have been in a better position.

At this point in time the only realistic hope for change from APC is Maada Bio and SLPP. And to give Bio his due, he does have some admirable traits. He transformed himself successfully from a military leader to a civilian leader and managed to retain a significant followership. That is no mean achievement. Very few of the NPRC leaders managed the transition successfully. He has built up a movement, PaOPa which is resilient and has wide support even if they do have questionable tactics. He does have a real connection with the ordinary man and woman on the street. He has a clear vision of what he wants to do in office and his military training would have given him an action orientated approach to leadership which is no bad thing given where we are starting from.

Bio has surrounded himself with a team who seem to be able to put together a coherent, if very expensive, programme for government. If he now reaches out to those with whom he has had disagreement, something which he has admittedly failed to do to date, he would represent a significant improvement on APC.

Well articulated. Kandeh Yumkella and his supporters are preaching the politics of hate and resentment. But this is not what is going to transform Sierra Leone into a society that would hold promise for the future.

I supported Yumkella when he was SLPP but refused to go with him to his new refuge. And it is particularly due to the hate and resentment of NGC folks for the SLPP that has made me a strong supporter of Maada Bio.

Honourable DMK ,
You've earned my admiration and respect long ago due to your civilised way you interact with me.
But don't you think for a team to be effective and able to deliver it must have a competent leader? If the SLPP have a good team with an incompetent leader like Bio, don't you also think that it can easily fall apart.
In business, companies spends a lot of money building very strong and capable leadership. This is especially true because they do not want to be subjected to human phenomenon of infallibility. Human beings are not immune to temptation so without proper leadership, they can easily be misled.
I don't have anything personal against Bio but my opinion is that he's incapable of leading our country given that he has never lead anything in his life. His 3 months stint with his military junta is not something we can bank on.
As for Kandeh Yumkella, a lot of people share the same opinion as yours. But this is mainly in the diaspora.
I've been on the ground and have seen first hand how our people crave for the type of leadership he possess. The KKY movement is the fastest growing political movement in the sub region according to some political analyst.
We've made our mark on every part of the country.
I've travelled extensively throughout the country campaigning for a change. I'll be going again on the 3rd of December until after elections.
I'm using my own personal resources to effect a campaign of positive change not because I expect something in return, but to have a leader whose vision resonates with the expectations of the people.
There are too many people especially in the diaspora who underestimate Kandeh but what I'll say for now is that the elections will be held on 7th March 2018, then all the doubting Thomas's will come to the realisation.

David Thorlu,
You're accusing us and Kandeh of something more prevalent in your camp.
Kandeh never used hate to campaign but Maada Bio is guilty of that. Let me drawn your attention back to the days when Alpha Saidu "konkoruma" Bangura was lambasting Bio. He responded by accusing Kandeh of being responsible for the sale of our oil refinery. That was uncalled for and that also showed a sign of weakness in the part of Bio.

Gone are the days of the Mende bookman. Gone are the generations of the cogent and articulate Mende bookmen. The current post 60s generations are devoid of the sound brains required to justify any masquerading as bookmen. The worst started when the Mende guys studying at FBC during the 70s decided to trade the university for the highway culminating in exchanging academics for streetsmartness or preferring gradual and concrete academic metamorphosis for smart alecness. Well right now they are paying the price and exorbitantly! When the wives used to advice their husbands in Mendeland against letting their offsprings indulge in the struggle for Mende dominance in politics, the society out there was scoffing at them as weaklings who did not mean any good for Mendeland.

Even the Bios had to decide on truncated schooling, got themselves inducted into the military with the covert aim of reinstating the SLPP as the most fitted to rule Salone. Now we have seen the consequences of abandoning the pen for the gun.

Bio's horrible performance during the recent BBC interview and the domination of the Okada trade by southeastern boys are enough warrantings for making the robust concluding that the Mendes are no more the bookmen of native Salone they claimed to be.

"Bio's horrible performance during the recent BBC interview and the domination of the Okada trade by southeastern boys are enough warrantings for making the robust concluding that the Mendes are no more the bookmen of native Salone they claimed to be." Musa Kenema

Musa Kenema,

Do you really expect any any Mende man to respect you when you make grammatically incorrect statements like the above?

Ay bo!!! do you now realize how wrong it was to attend Ahmadiyya, Freetown and those useless Bangladeshi universities?

Bio's horrible performance during the recent BBC interview and the domination of the Okada trade by southeastern boys are enough warrantings for making the robust concluding that the Mendes are no more the bookmen of native Salone they claimed to be.

CORRECTION

Bio's horrible performance during the recent BBC interview and the domination of the Okada trade by southeastern boys are enough warrantings for making the robust conclusion that the Mendes are no more the bookmen of native Salone they claimed to be.

So alaki Mende Chief is that what got you started? In this age of intelligent technology in the form of smart gadgets and even smart cards, houses, transportation etc. such minor things are inevitable. Phones as well as tablets try to be human by thinking for their users. The most important thing is the message did sink deep into your green butt rather than your rabbit brain. By the way why are you so obsessed with the renowned invincible trio of bintumani? I am talking about Musa Kenema, KL and Eddie Grant! It is hilarious that any time someone posts anything anti-Mende you pick on one of the trio and start pointing your green slender witch-like fingers. When something is bad, it is bad and people should talk about it so that corrective actions can be taken. The Mendes are going downhill politically, economically, academically and socially. This should be a cause for concern. Bio's disgrace is now universal knowledge and for such semi-literate to be allowed to rule our country means suicide on all fronts.

Bio can still be president if he never ever gives an interview again, or issues a position paper. Infact if he sees a microphone that calls for intelligent discourse, he should run away faster than his fat pudgy feet will carry him.Just mumu it until the election is over. Kikikiki. If he talks, the public will know that natin nor dae nar ihn hade.

Those that are in the Okada trade are making an honest living. APC has destroyed Sierra Leone leaving many college graduates with no choice but to operate Okada. However, the last time I checked, Padema Road prisons was populated with the Kamaras, Banguras, Fofanas and Mansarays. These are your brothers and tribesmen. How about that buddy?

This Bio dumbo is the typical grengo. My God how many loopholes will you cover and how many tax paying entities are available to be taxed to help pay for free education in Salone? What kind of education is this fellow talking about? Yes education is not cheap especially in a global world where technological tools are getting more expensive by the day. This guy need to take his green dumbo a$$ back to help cocoa farmers grow their crop. Chai!

Brother KL, I believe it is possible to provide free primary and secondary education if you make it a medium to long term goal. The key is to increase the annual proportion of government spending that is dedicated to education each year for at least five years and probably longer. At the moment we are spending a criminally small proportion of our GDP on education.

Brother DMK, I agree with you it can be done with strategic planning. My contention with Bio is that his plan is currently, and probably for the next ten years or so, not feasible. Divide the current GDP by a population some say is now seven million and see how far Bio can go by "stopping leakages" on tax exemptions and duty free items. Truth of the matter is that his plan cannot generate enough funds to sustain free education for both primary and secondary education.

KL, when EBK came to power, one of his first corrupt act which he caused Dr Zainab Hawa Bangura to perpetuate was to give a weaver of over two million dollars to his brothers company to import rice into the country. The rice was never sold at the discount. When Tejan Cole then ACC commissioner attempted to investigate the case, he was intimated and he ran for his life.

Do you know how many other similar weavers have been granted to unscrupulous business men and women since 2007? It runs into hundred of millions of dollars. Now calculate how much kids are paying in Leone for Primary and Secondary Education, It is not up to the amount wasted in tax weavers alone. One thing you have to know is that with or without subsidies on kids school fees government (no matter who is in power) has foot the Education fees.

So why are you doubting that Bio's intention to pay school fees for kids in Primary and secondary school is not feasible? If we have to improve our human resources and compete with the likes of Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast in the sub region, we have to sacrifice to provide affordable education to all and sundry.

Do you know that the Tejan Kabba Government between 2002 and 2005 paid the examination fees for all girl child in the northern region? Granted that the idea had a regional bias, but it was something that was achieved even as the country was operating on foreign help. So why do you think Bio's intention is bad and cannot be achieved? You need not be a Bio supporter to like a policy that is nationalistic and viable if the commitment is there to pursue it.

Katimu Sesay and her son Gbessay Sesay sell kola nut and locally-made soap at Mattru jetty

Katimu Sesay is a visually impaired mother of three. She sells kola nut and locally made soap at the Mattru jetty, southern Sierra Leone. She is always seen with her eight-year-old son, Gbassay Sesay. Gbassay’s future seems bleak because her mother cannot afford to send him to school.

Sesay told Concord Times that her son stopped attending school because she was asked to pay Le10, 000 as registration fee which she couldn’t afford.

She says that even though she sells kola nut and locally-made soap, she finds it extremely difficult to take care of the family, let alone pay registration fee for her son to start attending school.

Katimu, who was speaking to this medium last Friday (1st December) at the Mattru jetty, said she is married with three children.

“My husband is sick and has been taken to one of the riverine communities for herbal treatment. I am all alone with the three children. If I don’t go out in the morning to sell kola nut and soap, all of us in the house will not survive,” she told this reporter.

According to her, she has made several attempts to send the boy to school, but to no avail.

She narrates that she became blind as a result of measles when she was a toddler. Despite her predicament, she insist begging on the streets has never being an option.

Faced with harsh reality, she decided to step into the shoes of her sick husband in providing food for the family.

Although many visually impaired or disabled persons could be seen begging on streets in big cities across the country, she has decided to maintain her dignity even in the face of vulnerability by hawking, instead of begging, to eke out a living for her and the family.

She says 8-year-old Gbessay has been very supportive, not least at a time when the economic hardship is hitting her entire family very hard.

Katimu, in a state of melancholy, called on well-meaning Sierra Leoneans and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs and the Disability Commission to provide her with some amount of money as safety net to set up a small business to sustain her family.

Jeppeh Man, I thought Mattru Jetty is in Mattru Jong which is situated in Bonthe District which forms part of the southern province of Sierra Leone.

I am sure you are confusing the Katimu Sesay name to be of northern origin. No, in this case it is not. Sesay is a name shared by Temnes, Limbas, Mandingoes, Susu and Mendes in Sierra Leone. My Secondary Biology Teacher Mr. Momoh Sesay is a Mende. I once asked him if he has any Mandingo links and he told me that as far as he can remember he does not have any mandingo link. Katimu is a Mende name . So this woman is likely a Mende woman.

But as you said in your response, Katimu Sesay's pathetic situation is common in all regions of Sierra Leone. Is it not therefore nice that we have a candidate who has promised to make basic Education free for all Sierra Leoneans including the children of the ilk of Katimu Sesay mentioned in the Concord Times Article above? I hope the candidate who has this as part of his agenda wins and I hope he makes his intentions come to fruition.

I have not read the interview with Bio yet, so I cannot speak to how he explained - or did not - his plan for free education.

I do however think this is a wonderful idea and would be a major blessing to the young people and children of Salone. I do realize that the country is poor and education expensive, but I think it can be done. A few ideas

1) Shrink the expenditures of the national government by making it much smaller, devolving its functions onto the localities/chieftaincies (Zak will like this).

2) Eliminate/reduce the corruption and tiffmen. A smaller national government with abolition of the absurd patronage positions (like some Sylvia has had, but also others) that are used to milk the funds will free up some donor money for education, along with other taxes collected at the national and local levels. Create an independent board that monitors and approves all contracts to prevent theft and ghost workers.

3) Create a corps of young people who will volunteer their time to teach, kind of like Americorps or Teach for America in the US. Have them do two year stints, and then reward them with something for their service.

4) Recruit foreign teachers to come in through orgs that provide teachers for limited periods.

I know it's a big endeavor that would take a while to get off the ground. But efforts should be made to make it a reality.

Sage,
I know, as you said that you haven't read the interview and I appreciate the fact that you have a very tight schedule. But when you have time, please listen to this man who wants to be our president.
Just as you mentioned, the idea is a laudable one but suffice it to say that if anyone is serious about it, they would have put more effort to ensure they get it right before making any elaborate announcement. For instance, your single contribution to this discussion have almost summarised the entire episode.
In Bio's case, it is the complete reverse. The man even confirmed that he had been asked the same question severely. Why then did he appeared on interview unprepared? This was the biggest opportunity to sell this idea, himself and gain recognition as a force to rely on. He could've even created a vacuum amongst those who are doubting his credibility and probably win over so many of them. But alas, the man is not destined to rule Salone hence his poor performance in the world stage. He couldn't even point out other areas that are essential in the feasibility of free education.
This is not the first time Maada failed to impress the public. He was also given the opportunity to comment on the issue of his ability to travel to the US, he failed woefully and became the subject of derision.
Perhaps the only way he can perform better is when krio is the medium of communication.

I heard the segment of the BBC interview when the question of how he was going to fun free education was bought up. Even if he didn’t have the answer, he should have adopted a Donald Trump approach and doubled down with whatever he said.

His campaign team should have folks who can prepare him to respond to these type of basic questions.

Bookman dem and intellectuals may be disappointed and or shocked but I don’t think it will hurt him with those who were already in his corner. Their minds were made up a long time ago.

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